Hong shao
rou.
Glossy red braised pork belly over rice. This one is worth the wait—and worth cutting a little chunkier so dinner stays in beautiful pieces instead of becoming pork confetti.
Slow first, shiny later
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Cut bigger and blanch
Cut the pork belly into even pieces a little larger than 1 inch. Start them in cold water, bring to a boil, skim the foam, then drain and rinse. The extra size gives the cubes a better chance of staying intact later.
Build the braise
Move the pork to a clean, fairly small pot. Add Shaoxing wine, both soy sauces, ginger, star anise, and bay leaves. Pour in enough hot water to barely cover the meat, then bring it to a boil.
Simmer until tender
Cover, turn the heat low, and simmer. Wei’s recipe estimates 1–1½ hours; my larger cuts sometimes need more. Turn the pieces gently once or twice, add a little hot water if the pot gets dry, and check that a fork slips into the pork easily before moving on.
Reduce, don't demolish
Uncover and add the sugar. Raise the heat so the sauce boils down and turns glossy. Nudge or turn the pork gently instead of stirring it aggressively; stop when the sauce is concentrated and there’s just a shallow layer in the pot. Stay close—it can go from glossy to scorched quickly.
Rice time
Spoon the intact, saucy pieces over steamed rice. Something green on the side is excellent at pretending this wasn’t mostly an excuse to make pork belly.
Recipe and base quantities credited to Wei Guo at Red House Spice. Her page has photos, substitutions, and the complete original instructions. Pat’s adjustments here are the larger cut and a more patient simmer and reduction.